


Disparkled and Deserted

by Kalcifer



Category: Friends at the Table (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, During Canon, F/F, Gen, Post-Canon, pre-finale
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-02
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:53:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 3,475
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24502675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kalcifer/pseuds/Kalcifer
Summary: Request fics from tumblr, and probably anything else that's too short to get its own fic.
Relationships: AuDy & Orth Godlove, Jacqui Green/Aria Joie, Sokrates Nikon Artemisios & Cassander Timaeus Berenice
Comments: 6
Kudos: 4





	1. Jacqui/Aria, “Is that my shirt?”

**Author's Note:**

> Clearly I am an established writer now that I'm doing request fics. For ease of navigation, a table of contents:
> 
> 1 - Jacqui/Aria, “Is that my shirt?”  
> 2 - Orth & AuDy, “I immediately regret this decision.”  
> 3 - Jacqui/Aria, Coffeeshop/Restaurant AU  
> 4 - ...Silver... and Barricade and Melodica, "if there were two mechs sharing a body on a space station and one of them covered the other one in rock would that be fucked up or what"  
> 5 - Kobus & Vicuna, "Sometimes, I wish you'd died."

Jacqui didn’t know why, but she couldn’t seem to wake up this morning. She’d showered and shoved on some clothes in a haze, and now she was clinging to her coffee mug as if it were a lifeline, waiting for the caffeine to transfer directly into her bloodstream.

It didn’t seem to be working, because the next thing she was aware of was Aria coming in, meaning she’d been zoning out for the entire length of Aria’s ridiculous morning routine. She raised an arm in a vague acknowledgment of her wife’s presence.

“Good morning,” Aria said, still sounding pretty tired herself. She got down her own travel mug, then turned back to Jacqui. “Wait. Is that my shirt?”

“Mm.” It could have been, anyway. It wasn’t like Jacqui had been paying much attention to what she’d grabbed out of the closet.

“Aww, babe.” Aria’s voice was too full of saccharine affection to be genuine. “I know you miss me when I’m at work, but I didn’t know it was this bad.”

The wave of distrust that rushed through Jacqui’s brain sparked just enough energy for her to take a proper look at what she was wearing. Apparently, it was one of Aria’s old tour T-shirts, the ones that projected a hologram of her singing when you looked at it with the right app. Jacqui groaned. Getting up was a mistake. “Why was this even in our closet? Keep it with the rest of your weird narcissism shrine so I don’t have to see it.”

“I was thinking of wearing it to annoy the Minerva reps I’m meeting with, but this is so much better.” Aria pulled up her bracelet’s screen. “I think I might still have the app installed…”

“Why?” Jacqui asked, only semi-rhetorically. “If you want a picture of me with Aria Joie, there are easier ways.”

“That’s the point, though. It’s supposed to be cheesy and terrible.” She aimed the screen at Jacqui. “Come on, you know you would have loved this when you were sixteen.”

“That’s because when I was sixteen, I didn’t know what a self-centered person Aria Joie was.” She raised an arm in front of the camera but made no serious attempt to block the photograph. “If only I could have warned myself, maybe I wouldn’t be made fun of by my own wife.”

“Too late, you’re stuck with me,” Aria said cheerfully. There was the loud sound of a photograph being taken, something Aria apparently left on for the “effect,” whatever effect that was. She studied the result for a moment before dismissing the screen again.

“You’re not even going to show it to me?”

“Nope! I need something to get me through this meeting, since I can’t rely on my outfit to liven things up.”

“You’d still have it if you showed it to me, you know. I’m not going to delete it with the power of my mind.”

“Yeah, but what I’m saving is your reaction.” Jacqui only had a moment to process that before Aria leaned in to kiss her forehead. “Love you!” She grabbed her mug, filled it, and swept out the door before Jacqui could come up with a good response.


	2. Orth & AuDy, “I immediately regret this decision.”

AuDy understood the need to gather information on Ibex, but there had to be a more efficient way to do it. At the very least, a way that wouldn’t leave them so disoriented when they were finished. Trying to properly index months of someone else’s memories was a processor intensive task.

AuDy would blame their distraction for the fact that, when Orth muttered something about how all they could do now was pray for guidance, their immediate response was, “You’re no Hadrian.”

Their crew stared at them: Mako with delight, Aria with disbelief, and dubiety. AuDy kept their gaze firmly on Orth, challenging him to explain why they had caught his reference.

Predictably, Orth was the first to crack. “Right. I only meant there’s not much we can do at the moment.”

He went on to explain the dissolution of the CCT, and as far as AuDy was concerned, that should have been the end of that. They certainly weren’t planning to bring it up again.

They weren’t prepared for Orth to come up to them after the briefing and propose a marathon. “They’ve just come out with a remake, apparently. I haven’t had time to watch it yet, but I’ve heard that now that the war is over they’re much more sympathetic to Hadrian. If you’ve got the time, I’d love to hear your opinions…” He made a face not dissimilar to the one Mako made whenever he proposed they go somewhere unnecessary and ridiculous. The worst part of the comparison was AuDy’s certainty that Orth didn’t know he was making such a face.

“Fine,” they said. It would be good to experience the show without Orth’s emotional state clouding their judgment. They would confirm that it was another trite show about humans making poor decisions and having emotions at each other, and then they would forget about it entirely.

Orth lit up. “Great! I’ll get everything set up, so don’t worry about that. Is it all right if we use on of the _Kingdom Come_ ’s bedrooms for this? I can bring my projector.”

“Fine,” AuDy said again. This sounded like a lot of work for something so trivial, especially with the matter of Ibex still looming over them, but it wasn’t work AuDy would have to do, so they didn’t care.

“I’ll come get you when I’m ready, then.” Orth wandered off, muttering something about wizards and translations.

AuDy ignored him in favor of catching up to their team. They had probably begun to speculate on what Orth had wanted, and it was in AuDy’s best interest to put an end to that as quickly as possible.

As promised, Orth dropped by the cockpit that evening, hands rubbing together nervously but clearly excited in spite of that. He lead AuDy to one of the rooms they’d rarely had occasion to visit. A sheet hung from one of the walls, and as promised, a projector was projecting the image of a heavily stylized human onto it. The overhead light was off, or possibly broken, but strings of dim bulbs were scattered around the room. It was much more of a production than AuDy had been prepared for.

“I immediately regret this decision,” they announced.

Orth’s shoulders slumped. “Oh. If there’s something else you need to be doing, of course I understand.”

AuDy sent a crackle of static through their speakers in the waveform of a sigh. “No, I will join you. Just understand that it is under protest.”

“Right.” Orth grabbed a pillow and offered it to AuDy. “I couldn’t move the couch, so I hope you’re alright sitting on the floor for this.”

AuDy’s response was to sit where they were, holding the pillow in front of them.

Orth laughed nervously. “Well, if you’re ready, let’s get started.”

It didn’t take long for Orth to get caught up in the events onscreen, complaining about a scene on a boat getting cut or commenting on a better turn of phrase than was used in the original. It was a good thing AuDy already knew the plot, even secondhand, as he was very distracting. The characters’ actions were just as baffling as AuDy had found them in the original, and the animation little better despite the intervening time

Even so, the experience was not unpleasant. They chose not to theorize as to why that was. They were content to let it overwrite their previous associations with the show, and perhaps their unsettled mental state as well.


	3. Jacqui/Aria, Coffeeshop/Restaurant AU

Jacqui had a good view of the door, so by the time Aria made it to the register, she’d managed to school her face into something resembling sternness. “The answer’s still no, Aria.”

“What? I’m just here for a coffee.” Aria wasn’t a great actress, but she ended the sentence with one of those dazzling smiles she was so good at, which made it hard for Jacqui to form a proper argument.

She rolled her eyes to cover for the fact that she was apparently that easy to win over. “What can I get you, then?”

Aria rattled off a list of syrups and substitutions that made it clear she was the sort of person who paid attention to so-called secret menus. Jacqui told herself she found it annoying instead of endearing. It turned out she wasn’t any better at acting than Aria.

She managed to make Aria’s Frankendrink without making her repeat the order. Jacqui chose to be proud of that, even if her reward was bright green and contained enough sugar to make the caffeine unnecessary. “Here you go, have a nice day, see you around.”

Aria took her time selecting a straw. “Well… since I’m here anyway, we may as well talk, right? I’m a paying customer, so you can’t complain about me being here.”

“Keep telling yourself that.” Jacqui leaned back against the counter. “So, what brilliant argument have you got for me this time?”

“Well, first off, we’ve got a really cute girl on the team, and I bet you’d love working with her.” Aria fluttered her eyelashes like that wasn’t how she started all her pitches.

Jacqui snorted like it wasn’t still the most convincing argument Aria had made.

Unphased, Aria continued, “And we’ve finally pestered Cass into creating the menu, so we have proof we’ll serve more than one thing. It isn’t even entirely seafood based.”

“I don’t think ‘our restaurant has a menu’ is the big selling point you think it is.”

“You haven’t seen our menu. Mako did art for it and everything.”

Jacqui gave Aria an unimpressed look. Her only point of reference for Mako’s aesthetic sense was the neon T-shirts he apparently had an infinite supply of, seeing as he was wearing a new one every time she saw him, but those were enough to make her think twice about trusting someplace with his art on the menu.

“Obviously the rest of us had to approve it too,” Aria said. “We’re the ones trying to open a business with him, we know what we’re getting into.”

“Yeah, that seems like a bad move on your part. Honestly, I don’t know if I can trust your decision-making now that I know this. You’ll have to try again tomorrow if you want to convince me.”

“Drat,” Aria deadpanned. “I guess you’ll just have to wait to hear how AuDy talked Orth into giving us his old van.”

Jacqui raised an eyebrow. “Wait, aren’t you planning on a physical restaurant? Why do you need a van?”

“Nope, too late, you told me to go.” Aria cocked her head, the model of thoughtfulness. “Then again, if you were to come join us, you’d have to know all about our plans. I hear we’ve got all sorts of cool things lined up.”

Jacqui shook her head, smiling. “Tomorrow, then.”

“See you then!” Aria seemed remarkably unconcerned for having been rejected yet again.

Of course, what Jacqui hadn’t mentioned was that she’d already put in her two weeks’ notice with the coffeeshop. Minimum wage with shitty benefits didn’t do much to inspire loyalty, especially when the hot girl across the street kept showing up with better offers.

Jacqui didn’t see any reason to discourage Aria from visiting just because she’d accomplished her goal. Besides, maybe this way she could get control of the in-house stereo too.


	4. ...Silver... and Barricade and Melodica, "if there were two mechs sharing a body on a space station and one of them covered the other one in rock would that be fucked up or what"

Barricade proves to be a quiet Divine. Silver doesn’t mind – they’d known that any Divine the Waking Cadent could give them would be a thing unlike what the Fleet had prepared them for, and they’d been more than willing to accept that for a Divine of their own. Besides, when they’d designed Melodica, they’d been careful to ensure Melodica could speak for both of them when it became necessary. There was no reason that couldn’t extend to Barricade now too.

But months of whispers and nudges at the back of Silver’s mind hadn’t prepared them to wake up one morning and catch Melodica arguing with a familiar-unfamiliar voice. “It’s cheerful!” Melodica was in the process of saying. “It helps me get ready for the day, and I bet it would help you if you weren’t so grumpy all the time.”

“I’m not grumpy,” came the tired reply. “We’ve just been listening to the same fifteen songs over and over for the last seven hours, and they’re getting old. Don’t you have anything more relaxing?”

“Nope!”

If Silver strains their ears, they can hear a song they know well underscoring the argument. It’s off of _Pump Up Jams 8_ , one in a long line of playlists they made first to keep Melodica pacified and then to see them happy. They can’t blame Barricade for getting sick of it. Melodica has never understood moderation.

“Hey,” Silver says. Both mechs’ attention snaps to them. Long years of familiarity let them know that Melodica is hoping to rope them into this auditory purgatory. They can’t read Barricade nearly so well yet, but they suspect they’re feeling guilty to be caught at something so mundane. Silver ignores both reactions. “Do you still have the ‘Love’s First Explosion’ instrumental? Play that for them.”

“Great idea!” Melodica switches tracks mid-song.

It takes a second, but the spikes of coral around Melodica’s frame begin to relax into something smoother. Barricade’s gone quiet again, but Silver thinks they can feel Barricade’s relief waft through their mind. That could be arrogance. They don’t particularly care.

They don’t have a good enough sense of Barricade’s tastes to suggest things to them yet. This is the first they’d known that they cared about music at all, though it makes sense that spending enough time wound through Melodica would be a reason to start forming opinions. Still, it’s something to keep in mind, just far enough forward that Barricade won’t pick up on it immediately. With enough time, maybe they can even put together a playlist.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a The Seal Was Broken By Silver "Massalia d'Argent" Blade, Slipped Neatly Under Letter's Edge fan page.
> 
> I know the official ruling is that Barricade and Melodica merged but it's more fun to imagine ...Silver... trying to play mediator between them without trying particularly hard.


	5. Vicuna & Kobus, "Sometimes, I wish you'd died"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is brief, casual discussion of suicidal thoughts in this one, as a warning.

“Sometimes, I wish you’d died,” Vicuna says. There’s no buildup – they’re just eating dry sandwiches sitting in the fake grass of a planet they both only know as a name to drop in political discussions.

Kobus had thought they’d gotten used to Vicuna’s casual cruelties, her need to prove her power against anyone within reach, but this one still catches them off guard. They set their sandwich down carefully. “Yeah?”

“It would have made everything so much easier.” Vicuna tips her head back to look at the projected sky. It’s easier, knowing she can’t really see the star that swallowed Grace. Maybe she’s still out there in this false universe. “I could have made a clean break from all of that. Found someplace no one would know me.”

Kobus has had the same thought, had it when they first uploaded Liberty alongside Grace and then again most nights since. They don’t know what they have to live for, anymore. Still, knowing Vicuna doesn’t actively want to kill them is a relief. If they’re going to die, it should at least mean something.

“I don’t think there’s anywhere people won’t know you,” they say. “You made sure of that.”

Vicuna rolls her eyes. “You think any of those people know what I look like? They’ll only have seen…” She switches tracks just too slowly to be nonchalant about it, but Kobus admires the attempt. “I wasn’t the important one there. I can just cut my hair and it’ll be like I’m a whole new person.”

“Are you planning to change your name?” Kobus asks pointedly.

“I guess.” Vicuna doesn’t sound pleased by the prospect. “I’d have to, right?” She brings her knees to her chest, wraps her arms around her legs.

“And after all the work you put in to make it a name people could rally behind.” They both know that’s not her real complaint. Divines aren’t big on trinkets; Vicuna’s name is the only thing she has left of Grace. Kobus knows that’s a good thing. They also know that five years was plenty of time to think of another name for themself.

Vicuna groans. “You’re right, starting over would be so much work. I might have to go back and finish high school.” She looks to them with sudden intensity. “Bypassing high school was the smartest thing you’ve ever done.”

Personally, Kobus wouldn’t have minded the chance to pick up some social skills, or in fact any skills that weren’t related to planetary management and the operation of mechs. The limited social skills they do have are enough to let them recognize an olive branch, though, so they follow her lead. It’s a comfortable rhythm for them both. “I can’t imagine you had any trouble with high school.”

“Obviously not, but it’s the principle of the thing,” Vicuna says. “Just because it’s not trouble doesn’t mean it’s worthwhile.”

Kobus isn’t going to get worked up over an offhand comment like that. Not everything has to be about their personal struggles with the concept of worth. They can have a normal conversation about normal teenager things. “How bad was it?” they ask.

Vicuna is always happy to talk about injustices inflicted upon her and how she handled them, so she’s off and running at the first sign of interest. Kobus leans back on their hands and listens, pretending for a moment that this is all their relationship has been. It’s nice.


	6. Sokrates & Cass, catching up

“Oh, hey, Maxine is coming to visit,” Cass said, with far more enthusiasm than Sokrates would expect from someone doing boring diplomacy paperwork.

They looked up from where they were admittedly also going through boring diplomacy paperwork. “Who’s Maxine?”

“Maxine Ming, from Kesh.” Cass looked wistful for a second. “I hope she’s been all right after all that with September.”

Sokrates blinked. “Okay, let me rephrase. Why do you care about Maxine?”

“She was my - well.” Cass shook their head. “In my fake memories, she was a friend of mine at the September Institute. She seemed cool enough when I met her for real, though. I’m glad I didn’t shoot her that one time.”

Abruptly, Sokrates said, “One time I got all the important people on the big anti-Apostolos mission together so that I could yell at Ibex and make him step down.”

Cass put down the paper they’d been looking at. “I know? I saw that. How is it relevant?”

This conversation was going all sorts of places Sokrates had not been prepared for. Wait, hold on. What do you mean you saw that?”

“Oh, did I not tell you? Orth put us into this weird simulation thing of Jace’s memories so we’d understand Ibex better.” They frowned. “Mostly I just got that he was a dick, which I already knew.”

“You had to deal with Ibex? I’m so sorry,” Sokrates said. “So, what, you all just followed Jace around for the whole mission? That’s kind of creepy, even if he did let you into his memories.”

“Actually, it wasn’t all Jace’s perspective. We each got to live out the memories of a different person on the mission.” Cass shrugged. “I’m pretty sure we didn’t actually see everything, but it was still really weird to spend months in there and then realize it had only been a few hours out here.”

Sokrates really didn’t know how to feel about having someone watch the worst months of their life without their knowledge. Fortunately, it didn’t matter, because all emotions could be expressed through the form of teasing their sibling. “So, what, did you do all of Orth’s paperwork too?”

“Not quite.” Cass rubbed the back of their neck. “I was actually seeing it from Addax’s perspective.”

“Thank you for trusting me enough to tell me. That was very brave of you.” Sokrates put their hand on Cass’ shoulder. “If there’s anything I can do to help you get past such a dark time in your life, I’m here for you.”

Cass batted their hand away. “Come on, it wasn’t that bad. It was just kind of a weird month in general.”

“No, a weird month is that time you dyed your hair and made everyone call you Ander. A month in Addax’s head is a nightmare.”

Cass closed their eyes as if that would shield them from Sokrates’ mockery. “That was 15 years ago. We’re both adults now, and we’re running an empire. Don’t you think it’s about time to let that go?”

“I can’t let all that power go to your head.” Sokrates grinned. “You have to remember your origins. Think of the people.”

“I’m going to think of all the people who aren’t you.” Cass bent back over their paperwork pointedly.

Sokrates let them flee the conversation. After all, they were a nice big sibling like that.


End file.
